Chapter 1697
[ 609 words ]
Stephen made a quick phone call, and moments later, a heavily armored convoy arrived to intercept them.
The vehicles swallowed up their team and began driving straight toward the mining district.
“Where exactly are we going?” Claire asked, immensely curious.
The checkpoints in the Zen Marches had been dialed up to maximum security, clearly designed to trap them inside.
Yet, this mysterious convoy didn’t even slow down. The armed guards at the barricades simply waved them through.
How was that possible?
You needed terrifyingly deep connections to pull that off.
“You don’t know? Your cousin Dewitt manages the mining district here.”
He explicitly said ‘manages,’ not ‘owns.’
Because technically, the true owner of this entire territory was Claire.
Wasn’t Claire set to inherit everything from Pandora?
“Oh?” Realization washed over Claire.
If Dewitt was running the operation, the VIP treatment made perfect sense.
“But it’s a mining camp. Do they really have advanced medical equipment?”
A mine would naturally have an infirmary, but a fully sterilized operating theater equipped for neurosurgery? That was highly unlikely.
“Funny you should mention that. Shortly after Dewitt took over, there was a massive industrial accident. Instead of just paying out, he went ahead and built a state-of- the-art hospital right on the grounds.”
Originally, that accident could have sparked a localized riot, making it impossible for him to maintain control of the territory.
But Dewitt instantly neutralized the tension by dumping a fortune into constructing a medical center.
It was a massive welfare project for the miners, and it even offered free care to their families.
Who could possibly riot against him after that?
Did they want to lose access to free healthcare?
The nearest city hospital was hours away and obscenely expensive. Whenever the
locals got sick, they usually just gritted their teeth and prayed.
Now, with a hospital on their doorstep, the crisis of inaccessible and unaffordable medical care was solved overnight.
It was a tangible, life-changing
benefit The miners were fiercelyet
loyal to Dewitt, and his transition to absolute power was seamless.
Dewitt implemented sweeping, aggressive reforms across the territory, and not a single soul dared object.
Today, the district operated with ironclad discipline, and Dewitt’s word was law.
Of course, he made sure everyone knew he was merely the manager. Whether it was the hospital or the newly built schools, the funding came directly from the elusive ‘Big Boss.’
So, on top of respecting Dewitt, the entire workforce practically worshipped the
unseen owner.
Claire mentally gave Dewitt a standing ovation. Her cousin possessed terrifying foresight.
Building hospitals and schools here didn’t just buy labor; it bought fanatical loyalty.
However, the district’s penalty system was equally brutal, and Stephen had no intention of explaining the darker mechanics to Claire.
Under Dewitt’s direct orders, Stephen’s convoy bypassed all security and delivered them straight to the hospital.
The local doctors here were highly competent, but their surgical skills paled in comparison to Tandy and Claire.
The lead surgeon felt slightly insulted and demanded to observe the procedure.
Knowing the risks of an information leak, Stephen firmly denied the request.
They were strictly borrowing the facility. Once Silas was stabilized, they had to exfiltrate the Zen Marches immediately.
Even with Dewitt acting as the local warlord, this was still hostile foreign territory.
Stephen was paranoid, and the Carl family back home was even more so.
Headquarters viewed Silas as an irreplaceable asset; he could not be allowed to
die.
Furthermore, Tandy was a decorated hero who had made monumental contributions
to the nation. He was untouchable.
And then there was Claire-the
primary target of the Daybreak Syndicate. If she was compromised on foreign, soil, Solertia’s military reach couldn’t save her.
Therefore, every single local doctor was barred from the operating room.
They only utilized two trusted nurses, both expats from Solenia personally vetted by Dewitt.
The grueling surgery, spearheaded by Claire and Tandy, lasted a staggering thirteen hours and forty-eight minutes.
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